Irregular maritime migration across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia entered a period of crisis in spring 2015 as a wave of migrants and refugees crossed, most departing from ports in Myanmar and Bangladesh, with many facing critical danger along the way. This MPI-IOM Issue in Brief puts the crisis into context and offers a consideration of what recent history has to teach about responses to maritime migration crises.

Today's refugee protection regime, established in the aftermath of World War II, is ill-equipped to meet the protection needs of contemporary displacement situations. This report explores the main sources of strain on the existing system of protection, and examines the two most promising avenues for strengthening the system: development- and mobility-focused approaches.

The number of women migrants in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region is on the rise. While migration can provide unique opportunities for female workers to improve their livelihoods and gain greater autonomy, it also exposes them to new types of vulnerability and discrimination. This brief looks at the trends and patterns in female labor migration in the Asia-Pacific region as well as key policy challenges relating to female migration.

In light of the recognition of the need for a new approach to immigrant integration policy in the European Union, policymakers and other actors are beginning to look at the role that origin countries can play in the integration process. This policy brief explores the transnational dynamics at work behind the scenes of integration policy, including wider sociopolitical factors in origin and destination countries.

While a number of major migrant-sending countries like Morocco and Turkey have started to take an active role in the integration of their migrants abroad, the role of subnational authorities has been overshadowed by diaspora engagement initiatives at the national level. This report investigates how the activities of origin countries' regional and local institutions may improve the lives of emigrants to Member States of the European Union.

While there is growing consensus on the value of immigrant integration support prior to departure, such initiatives generally have not fully realized their potential. This policy brief reviews promising examples of predeparture measures for labor market integration in Europe that are jointly designed and/or run by origin- and destination-country actors, illustrating their potential to help effectively address some of the most stubborn obstacles to successful integration.

Remittances are among the most tangible links between migration and development. International migrants are expected to remit more than $550 billion in earnings in 2013, of which $414 billion will flow to developing countries. These multimedia maps visualize global remittance flows numerically or as a share of GDP.

From the Chinese in London to African immigrants in the United States, MPI's research on diaspora engagement examines the challenges and opportunities of diasporas across the globe and their impacts in their countries of origin.

This brief takes a look at hometown associations (HTAs)—immigrant organizations based on a common hometown—and their often overlooked function as integration intermediaries in their country of destination.

The situation in Iraq remains extremely precarious for civilians, with additional thousands being displaced by violence and persecution even as refuge becomes harder to find – either internally or in neighboring countries. This report looks at the refugee situation in the country.

This report offers an intricate look at the slowdown in remittance growth experienced by Mexico in 2007 by comparing remittance flow figures among Mexican states, and highlights regions that may be particularly vulnerable to risks associated with remittance fluctuations.

This report identifies features of remittances that make them ideal leveraging agents for poverty reduction and migration management agendas, and proposes a four-part international research and policy agenda for maximizing the development impact of international remittances.

This report explores the role of ethnic community-based organizations as drivers of refugee integration. It highlights contributions, challenges, and best practice methodologies identified through site visits to refugee-serving ECBOs across the country, and offers recommendations for enhancing the capacity and sustainability of refugee integration services.

This report captures India’s exceptional growth in reported remittances over the 15-year period between 1990 and 2005. It explores the relative importance of these remittances in India’s economy, and then identifies factors responsible for this exponential gain.

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About the Program

The Migrants, Migration, and Development Program focuses on the intersection of migration and development policies and trends, moving beyond simple notions that development is a “cure” for migration or that migration is a recipe for development. For more on the program, click here.

Related Work

How do governments institutionalize their ties with diasporas? Check out ourTaxonomy of Diaspora-Engaging Institutions, which describes briefly the activities and objectives of government institutions found in 30 developing countries.

In the Spotlight

Brussels Launch of the Diaspora Handbook

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Under the auspices of MPI Europe and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), panelists at this report launch in Brussels discuss the joint MPI-IOM handbook, Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development. Among the topics of discussion: How governments can best cooperate with the largely spontaneous engagements of diasporas with their homelands.

Free Book Download: Diasporas: New Partners in Global Development Policy

​The volume, which examines the development impact of diasporas in six critical areas—entrepreneurship, investment in country-of-origin capital markets, heritage tourism and trade, philanthropy, volunteering, and advocacy—is now available to download for free in its entirety.